For many of us average Joes, hitting a triple 20 is the highlight of our leg, but there are darts players out there everyday striving to nail the allusive 9 dart finish. For those of you new to the game, a 9 dart finish is when you complete a leg of 501 darts in just 9 throws. This can be done a number of ways and if you have ever thrown a dart before, you can appreciate just how amazing this accomplishment is.
Not only are 9 dart finishes an amazing feat for the player, but boy do the crowd also get up and about when someone nails it. I have no hesitation in saying it’s one of the most electric atmospheres to be a part of. In celebration of 9 perfect darts, we wanted to count down what we reckon is the top 3 9 dart finishes of all time.
3. John Lowe – 1984
Let us cast our minds all the way back to the 13th of October, 1984. John Lowe is leading Keith Deller 2 sets to 1 and is leading 1 leg to nothing in the fourth set. Being the early 80’s, darts is still relatively new to TV screens. What happens next has never been seen before on television screens. The video speaks louder than words ever could.
What you just witnessed was the first ever 9 dart finish to be televised. As you can see crowds were a lot more tame back in the day, but they still got up and about for the amazing achievement, and John Lowe took home a cool 100,000 pound for throwing 9 perfect darts.
2. Michael Van Gerwen – 2013
We know Michael Van Gerwen as an absolute power house of the darting world, so it’s only fitting he features in our top 3. James Wade could only sit back and admire greatness as MVG came agonisingly close to nailing 2 9 dart finishes in a row. Still, the fact he was able to nail 17 perfect darts meant the king has well deserved his spot at number two on our list.
If that didn’t get you up and about, I don’t know what will. Now you’d think it would be pretty hard to top almost two 9 dart finishes, but think again, our number 1 is truly breath taking.
1. Phil Taylor – 2010
Who else to take the number one spot for the greatest 9 dart finish of all time, or should I say 9 dart finishes. James Wade, on the receiving end again, could only sit and watch as The Power achieved darting history.
Taylor became the first man in history to hit two 9 darters in a single match, on the same night. As you can see the crowd was absolutely losing their mind and despite Wade’s best efforts, could not stop the onslaught of Taylor. These are the moments we live for as darts fans and are not forgotten easily.
Who knows what the future holds, but it is going to take a huge effort to top these 3 9 dart finishes. Let us know if you think we missed one, and what your top 3 would look like. We love hearing from readers and fellow darts players and fans.
